Findings revealed that first-year students have a greater interest in more career sectors than graduating students, suggesting the BBS program can tailor career development differentially as students progress through their programs. Results from this work were presented at a BBS executive committee meeting to encourage data-informed approaches.
“BBS tracks and departments often seek student input to develop workshops and programs promoting career self-efficacy,” said Jennifer Claydon, who shares a joint appointment between the Poorvu Center and BBS. “This study provides insight into detailed ways to support student career development.”
This work is now in press at the Journal of Research and Practice in Assessment, entitled “Leveraging Student Voices to Explore Career Interest in STEM PhD Programs.”
The Poorvu Center’s Educational Program Assessment team provides expertise in the design, implementation, analysis, and reporting of assessments that explore the impact of teaching and learning programs at Yale and beyond. The team thinks about data broadly, considering both qualitative and quantitative perspectives to capture the complexity of teaching and learning at Yale.
“This project exemplifies how strategic assessment connects university leaders with patterns in student perceptions that may go uncovered otherwise,” said Meghan Bathgate. “Data like these can be a powerful tool to guide programming decisions and help students learn about their peers’ experience in a broad way.”